Inches and Falling
by emily I
Summary: Bit by bit Ginny Weasley finds her resolve weaken only to result in a freefall of emotions. Whether anyone will catch her is to be known.
1. ground zero

The Requisite Disclaimer I hardly think it needs saying, but just for the really, impossibly stupid, Harry Potter does not belong to me. Ha, I wish.

Ginny strode confidently through the corridors of "Witching World", suppressing a wide grin. She was hired! Her editor was whipping around corners as she shuffled to keep up. Ginny adjusted her blouse, and suddenly felt underdressed as she saw svelte young ladies at their desks preening. Her own copper hair was held in a messy bun by a pen that she now took to write a note on her hand.

"Wizard of the Month interview on Wednesday? Alright, thanks, Diana. I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Well, the Editor in Chief was impressed by your application, but you can't exactly shoot to the top in this business. You've got to do some lower end articles."

"Tell Ms. Greene that I really am grateful for this opportunity."

"Oh stop faking. I know this isn't exactly what you imagined when you wanted to do journalism," Diana Furston said as they passed a girl doing her nails. Diana gave the girl a critical look, and Ginny laughed to see the girl spill her polish in embarrassment.

"I know I've got to start somewhere."

"Well, somewhere is here."

Ginny grimaced slightly at the dimunitive desk they were now standing in front of. It was tucked in the furthest corner of a large room with many other reporters alternatively chatting and writing.

"Thanks for everything, Diana."

"No problem, I hope you get settled in well."

"I hope not," Ginny said to herself as Diana walked away. She didn't plan on staying at this job very long, just enough to get another recommendation and another item for her resume. "Until I make the Daily Prophet…"

It was just a year after she got out of Hogwarts, but Ginny was adamant and ambitious. She had already signed a contract for an apartment in London, despite her mother's deep disapproval. Ginny was the only daughter of seven children, but she wasn't going to let any family guilt hold her back.

Ginny's first day at work consisted of sitting around waiting for a rough draft of pages to be sent to her for her to copy edit. It was tedious and dreadfully boring. She knew that the article on Wednesday would not win any Pulitzers, but she would at least be able to write. Ginny stopped by Diana's office a few times throughout the day, but each time Diana was in a meeting with various famous witch celebrities, and Ginny was intimidated. So it went also the next day, until late afternoon, when Ginny could not bear it any longer, and needed to know the time and date of her interview. Diana finally sent her a note with the time and restaurant just before Ginny left for home.

"Great, not even a name. I can't even come up with questions tonight," Ginny grumbled to herself. "I guess I'll just wait and see tomorrow at 11 for lunch at the Tangerine Café."


	2. quarter of an inch

Ginny stood in front of her closet Wednesday morning, perplexed.

"Well, it's definitely good that I have this job. I have no idea of how to be a reporter. And that includes dressing for the part."

She at last settled on a cream jumper with slim jeans, deciding that she shouldn't be too fancy, nor entirely oblivious to how she looked. Makeup was minimal and her hair was loose and undone. _It's not a date, so I don't have to worry_, Ginny thought to herself, and yet, she still felt dread trickling down her insides as she sat down in the café. As she was glancing at people around the crowded café, she realised that she had no idea of knowing who she was supposed to be talking to. She was just about to call Diana when she was aware that someone had just sat down next to her. Ginny turned and choked back a gasp.

"He-Hello Harry…"

"Hey Ginny," Harry smiled back at her. Harry Potter, with his messy jet hair and wiry body beneath a white shirt and black coat. He unwrapped his scarf and said, "I figured my interviewer would be the girl sitting alone in a corner, but I didn't know it would be you."

Her tongue was in knots. Ginny couldn't speak, not for surprise at a celebrity at her table- everyone in the café was now staring avidly at this corner, but the flood of memories washing back into her mind blocked out all speech. He was so calm and cool, that it almost hurt her to see him looking at her ostensibly devoid of any emotion. _Well, of course, it's been so long_, her brain nagged her. _He's over it._ _So are you. Right?_

Two years ago, after weeks of bliss together, they had separated. It was too dangerous, he had said, for him to care about her. And yet, he had had another girlfriend since then, a beautiful French witch, and nothing had happened to her. She was not tormented by Voldemort. Ginny suspected, and she hated herself for thinking this, that he had only been using Voldemort as an excuse. She was convinced, looking at him now, that he didn't care, and probably never had, about her. Finally, she realised how long she had been silent, and felt supremely unprofessional. She had to put her work before her feelings right now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get briefed, so I couldn't make any personal questions."

"It's fine."

"How's work, y'know, with as an Auror?"

"It's good, I can't say much about it though."

"Oh.. right. Argh, I'm sorry I'm being such an idiot right now." Ginny wanted to smack her forehead. "Of course, top secret stuff and all that."

"It's alright. How's work for you?"

"Not going well, as evident by this interview," Ginny laughed nervously.

"Oh, I think you're fine for your first time."

"Thanks, but really, I'm doing a horrible job right now. I can't believe I thought I could work for the Daily Prophet. I can't even do a simple piece for a shallow witch's magazine! Why did you even agree to this?"

"Oh come on, it's not as shallow as you make it seem."

"Our cover story is about the season's robe colour!"

"Okay, so it's not hard-hitting journalism…" Harry smiled wryly. Ginny was calculating her breathing, making sure her heart wasn't going any faster. She tried hard not to look at his enchanting green eyes as she asked him questions. Eventually though, it became so easy to carry a conversation with him that she did not notice when a half hour went by without their ordering anything. Harry chose a roast beef sandwich with minestrone soup, while she had a chicken salad. As the waiter walked away with their menus and order, Ginny cringed when she thought about what she would have to talk about next. His personal life.

"So.. um… a lot of witches will want to know if you're the most desirable bachelor in the wizarding world…"

"Which witches?" Harry raised an eyebrow jokingly.

"It's a witches' magazine. I have to ask the girlfriend questions," Ginny bantered with him.

"Well, there was the highly publicized affair with Estelle Canet, but that, sadly, is over."

"Er, I won't pry. So then no one at the moment?"

"No, I really am too busy, and not many witches want to get into a relationship with me."

"What a lie! Why's that?"

"Well, I would think that some guy named Voldemort would scare them off."

"Right, you used that same excuse for us." Ginny joked, then immediately regretted bringing up their past. For forty-five minutes, she had managed to have a normal conversation with her ex-boyfriend. Now things would be tense, or so she thought.

"Hey, that was not an excuse! It still isn't!" Harry defended himself, yet in a light tone. Ginny was relieved. She hoped they would forget the matter now that the food had arrived. Five silent minutes passed as Harry enjoyed his soup. Finally, he looked up and surprised her by saying:

"I'm sorry."

"What? For what?"

"I know what you must think. I told you that we couldn't be together because of Voldemort, and I didn't want to put you in danger, then I was with Estelle. I know what it must seem like."

"Harry, no, I wouldn't even…" Ginny stopped her lying, and Harry read her face.

"You did. Now you've got to turn off the tape recorder because what I am about to say is going to make me sound like a horrible guy," Harry half-laughed. Ginny pressed the stop button, intrigued.

"I cared about you so much that I couldn't bear the thought of Voldemort hurting you. With Estelle, it was less loving and I…"

"Didn't care so you let the possibility of Voldemort getting her exist?"

"No! I'm not evil! I just cared less..."

"Right, totally not evil!"

"Hey, give me a break, I'm actually being really nice towards you right now!"

Ginny laughed, slightly relieved, and enjoyed another hour of his company before Harry said that he had to get back to the Ministry. She and Harry stood outside as he bundled up before setting off.

"Now you have my number. Next time everything we say won't be recorded, so we can have a little more fun," Harry said to her, "If there is a next time. I'm not so sure you want to see me now that you think I'm a horrible person!"

Harry pulled her into a sudden hug, and before her mind could register, their bodies were apart, and he had disapparated. Ginny folded her arms across her front, foolishly thinking that the warmth of his chest would still be there. At last, Ginny walked back to the office.


	3. half an inch

Ginny smiled proudly at the preview of the page her article would be on. Diana was scrutinizing the layout, but had earlier told her that she was pleased with Ginny's writing. Ginny tilted her head two degrees to the left to glance at the picture of Harry. She had not been present when he came in for the photoshoot, and was regretting it by the looks of the pictures. That furtive smile on his face would definitely flutter some hearts of their readers.

Ginny had so far been far too busy to contact Harry, and to her disappointment, he did not take the initiative and call her. Empty promises. Ginny was occupied with learning the terms of journalism and technical aspects, such as laying out pages. She was learning a lot more than she had initially expected to at a witches' magazine. Six long days a week. Ginny was looking forward to the end of the day, when the issue was sent to the printers and she could go home to pack for a trip back to the Burrow for the holidays.

The day turned out to be longer than expected. There was a problem with the personal beauty pages, something about the image files not going through, and all lower-end staff had to stay to learn how to deal with the situation. Not only had night fallen by the time Ginny got out, but she even suspected the sun would rise soon. It was nearly three as she walked the requisite five blocks to the nearest Underground station. Ginny could not apparate into her building, because the racket would raise suspicion with her Muggle neightbour on the other side of the wall. Ginny swore when she saw the lights off in front of the station. She had forgotten that the line stopped running at one in the morning. Now she would have to walk twenty-seven blocks east to get home. She drew out her wand slightly, surreptitiously keeping it within her coat pocket, but not enough to be noticed by the dodgy characters walking by. It was ready if she needed, which was possible, as the next few streets were not occupied by the upper echelon of society. She kept her eyes low as a man with a broken glass bottle in hand passed dangerously close.

Ginny kept herself aware, and spotted a strange man behind a dumpster staring at her. Her hair bristled with anxiety. He kept his eyes on her as she crossed the street to his side. Ginny held her breath, and wondered whether or not she should cross on the other side. Before she could decide, the man stepped out of the shadows and pulled back into his corner with his hand muffling her surprised "Oh!"

Before she started kicking and shooting off spells, he whispered, "Ginny! Don't! It's me!" Ginny's eyes widened, taking in the familiar face, her eyes that were now adjusted to the dark making out the faint lines of black hair against blacker darkness. "Hawee!"

"SSH!"

Harry kept his hand over her mouth as he looked around the corner in the direction she was walking. He seemed satisfied that no one had noticed, but still on guard.

"I'm on Auror business here. I'm watching the next street over. There might be some dirty dealings involving Rookwood's son. I couldn't let you walk there."

At last he dropped his hand, but kept his grip on her arm.

"Thanks, Harry. I'll get home another way."

"No, I'm not letting you walk alone. I'm afraid I can't relinquish my watchpost though."

"I'll wait then."

Ginny gasped as she saw dark shapes move around on the far end of the street, and Harry instinctively drew out his wand and stepped in front of her. His eyes narrowed as the two shapes met outside of a heavy metal door, and started conversing. With his other hand, Harry took a small flesh-coloured bean out of his pocket, and put it in his hear, turning that side of his head in the direction of the suspects. Ginny recognized the bean as an Inner Ear, a stronger version of her brothers' prototype, the Extendable Ear. She suppressed a tiny smile. A small beep began to sound, and Harry slapped his wrist in alarm to shut it off.

"Merlin, damn American wristwatch. Could have ruined everything. Well, that was all nothing. My shift is over. We can go now."

He popped the bean out, looking disappointed, and looked to the sky. A shining star seemed to be coming closer to them.

"I see someone is coming to take my spot. Come on, quickly. Do you think the both of us can fit under my cloak?"

Ginny looked upwards to his concerned face, and said, "I don't know. You're a lot taller now. We can try."

Harry removed the invisibility cloak he inherited from his father from within his large peacoat, and swept it over both of their heads and shoulders. They both looked down at their feet, and satisfied that they were all covered, began to move. It was a long walk to her house, the entirety of which was spent in silence. Ginny understood that it was for security purposes, but she was still biting her lip in disappointment. At last, they stood in front of her building. Harry checked that there was no one around to see before letting Ginny slide out from under the cloak. She didn't say anything, as it would look strange to a Muggle to see a girl talking to air at four in the morning. She gave a grateful look and smile in the general direction she thought he was, and mounted the steps to her apartment.


	4. one inch

"YOUR HAIR!"

Ginny had barely stepped within the doors of the Burrow and already her mum had collided with her, black hair in her fists.

"I know, mum, you hate it."

"What did you do!"

"I was a little bored."

"A little bored! This is who you are! I get bored with your dad sometimes, but imagine if I went out and got black hair!"

"Mum, you're not making any sense," Bill said as he pushed Molly Weasley off of Ginny. He pried her fingers from Ginny, who was wincing with pain. "I think it looks great, Gin."

"Thanks, Bill."

"Of course you're on her side! Look at the state of your hair!"

Bill had shaved his head into a flaming orange Mohawk, and Molly was grimacing as she briefly looked at it before turning away in disgust.

"I've got to side with mum here. Ginny, you look too weird." Ron was sitting in a corner picking at his teeth with Crookshanks in his lap.

"Thanks, suckup."

"I am not a suckup!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"God, Ron, how old are you now?" Hermione sighed as she pulled Crookshanks off his lap.

"Older than you!"

"That's not the point. I think it looks great, Ginny. Why black?"

"Er, no reason. I just figured I wouldn't look too great blonde, and you've already got brown hair."

"Don't you dare doing any other colour, Hermione."

"You can't tell me what to do, Ron!"

The others turned away from the bickering couple with a deaf ear, and Molly seized Bill's hand and rubbed healing ointment on his burns. Ginny smirked as she saw Hermione sneak a peck from Ron when everyone was pretending not to look, then continue to fuss about his feet on the furniture and his teeth-picking.

Fleur came down the stairs with a glow and prominent pregnant belly. Ginny was surprised, and turned to Bill demanding to know when it had happened, and why no one had told her.

"We did tell you, Miss Journalist! You'd think you're a writer, you can write a few letters back home!"

"Sorry, Mum. I have an article in the next issue though!"

"Oh really, about what?"

"Er, well, it's not that big. It's about-"

"Harry, dear! Come in! I'm just taking biscuits out from the oven! Sit down!"

Molly shoved a burning biscuit into Harry's shocked mouth, and pushed him into the seat next to Ron. Ron smacked him on the back and challenged him to wizards chess later and Hermione admonished that he hadn't been to visit them in ages. Everyone was talking loudly and together to Harry, who was smiling and accepting food from Mrs. Weasley and defending himself against Hermione's scolds. Ginny stood for some time in the corner, then left quietly to put her things down in her room.

She smiled as the stairs creaked familiarly beneath her, and she pushed open her door to find everything as it was. Ginny opened the windows and her drawers to put things away. Her eyes widened in horror when she found a stash of diaries at the top of her closet. She went to the door, checked that her mum was busy downstairs, then went to the window and placed the box on the sill outside. She aimed with her wand, ready to get rid of them, but decided against it. She hid it beneath the dirt and flowers, reminding herself to bring it back to her apartment before returning home. She was dusting off her hands when she heard a knock at her door. Ginny turned to see Harry leaning just inside, looking around.

"Mind if I come in?"

"Oh, er," Ginny looked at the mess around her, clothes strewn about, and felt embarrassed," If you don't mind the mess."

Harry came in, shutting the door behind him to lean against instead of taking a seat. There wasn't really a spot to sit down, Ginny saw.

"You were pretty sneaky back there."

"Yeah, well, everyone hasn't seen you in a long time. I just saw you a couple of days ago."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Oh no! If it weren't for you, I might have been in trouble."

"Nah, it was much ado about nothing. I'm sorry about wasting your time."

"It was alright. Sorry I didn't, y'know, say good bye."

"No, that was smart."

"I didn't know you would be here."

"Yeah, well not many other places to go."

"Oh, right…"

Ginny was perpetually saying the wrong thing with Harry, and she hated herself for it. She bit her lip as there was an awkward silence.

"You should stop doing that, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Bad habit. That and yanking my hair, and twisting my quill… and…"

"You hair looks nice, by the way."

"Oh, thanks." Ginny flushed red, thinking about when she dyed it a day ago. She had embarrassing reasons for black.

"We're the only ones with black here here."

He connected it. Ginny couldn't stop blushing, but was thankfully saved when her mum called Harry downstairs to have some stew.

"Your mum, I swear by Merlin. She's going to make me fat!"

"Oh you've nothing to worry about, you've got a… you look… you look good."

"So do you."

Harry smiled as he backed out into the shrieks of Hermione and Ron.


End file.
